Televisions have become significant pieces in the modern home, often influencing how rooms are laid out. However, not everyone wants the TV to be the star of their living room. To seamlessly incorporate a TV into your living room design, here are some decor ideas for above and behind the TV.
Create an Accent TV Wall or Statement Wall
One of the most versatile TV wall styling options is to create an accent wall. This approach adds dimension through color and texture, potentially softening the contrast between the stark black box and the wall behind it to better fit any interior design style.
- Utilize Architectural Design: Use wood slatting to create a sleek, modern design backdrop, or add board-and-batten, shiplap, or wainscoting details for a farmhouse touch.
- Create Texture: Try limewash, concrete smear, or tile to add visual interest and depth to a feature wall behind a TV.
- Make It Pop With Paint: Dark, bold colors can add interest to a dark academia-inspired design, while lighter colors can help blend traditional styles.
- Add Personality Through Wallpaper: Geometric designs, moody florals, textured grasscloth, or mural wallpaper can add a lot of whimsy to a space without heavy construction.
Curate a Gallery Wall
A gallery wall is the ultimate way to camouflage a television, seamlessly blending it into a collection of personal art. Focus on a theme or shared subject throughout your collection for a cohesive feel, and opt for art with a matte finish to prevent flare. By surrounding the screen with framed prints, photographs, and unique objects, the TV becomes another dynamic piece of the puzzle.
- Frame It: Disguise your TV by adding a custom frame or DIY one with some trim.
- Put It Off-Center: Balance the visual weight by not having the TV in the center, drawing the eye to other areas of the wall when it’s not in use.
- Utilize the Screensaver Mode: Most modern TVs feature an “Art Mode” or ambient screensaver setting when the TV is not in use.
Add Decorated Floating Shelves
Floating shelves are a great way to add personal touches with minimalist or maximalist design! Use shelves for just a few select items—like a single architectural vase, abstract print, or clean book stack. Or, layer them with a rich tapestry of tightly packed books, photos, vintage statement pieces, and overlapping artwork.
- Create Symmetry: Flank your TV with shelves displaying items in a consistent color scheme or theme.
- Utilize the Rule of Three: Mix odd numbers of objects of varying heights to create layers, like stacking a few books horizontally as pedestals for smaller or sculptural objects.
- Add Drama With Staggered Shelving: Place a longer shelf above the screen and offset a shorter one below for an asymmetrical setup that shifts focus away from the TV.
Display Plants
Breathe life into your TV wall by adding plants to bring a natural, organic aesthetic in a space committed to tech. If you use living plants, ensure there’s no risk of moisture damage to the TV by using saucers or leak-proof cache pots. Perfect for Bohemian, cottagecore, or Japandi spaces, creating a living plant wall adds vibrant color and a lush, laid-back vibe that transforms a boring media center into a tropical oasis.
- Frame the TV with Vining Plants: Use trailing houseplants like pothos, heartleaf philodendron, or English ivy.
- Utilize Wall Planters: Use geometric, ceramic, or metallic wall-mounted pots to create an urban jungle-style plant wall.
Hang a Mirror
Have a mirror in storage waiting to be used? Placing a mirror above or behind a TV is an effective design trick for opening up smaller living spaces and amplifying natural light, creating the illusion of a grander, more open space.
- Use a Circular or Arched Mirror: The organic curve of an arch counteracts the rigid, boxy rectangle of the television screen, adding an elegant, architectural element to the room.
- Hang a Statement Mirror: Use a patinaed, vintage, framed, or unique-shaped mirror to create visual interest.
- Angle It to Prevent Glare: When hanging a mirror above a TV, tilt it downward or mount it high enough to reflect an attractive part of your room, like an accent wall or window.
Showcase Textile Art Pieces
Styling textiles can add immediate warmth and a tactile quality to your living space by introducing an earthy, handcrafted element that can balance the hard angles of a television screen. By bringing soft yarns, natural fibers, and global textures into your media zone, woven art creates a cozy, inviting sanctuary. Whether you want to add organic texture to a sleek Scandinavian space or inject a splash of cozy character, fiber art pieces offer the perfect design-forward solution for your TV wall.
- Display Colorful Baskets: Mixing different sizes, weaving patterns, and colors can create a beautiful multi-dimensional display.
- Incorporate Vintage Fiber Arts: Hang textiles like crewelwork, punch-needle, or cross-stitch to add a soft, handcrafted contrast to modern tech.
- Hang Tapestries: Hang a wide macrame or woven textile piece directly above the TV to create a cohesive block of texture that draws the eye upward.
Emphasize a TV Wall With Lighting
Lighting can add a lot of personality to space if you’re designing a modern space or home movie theater. Adding soft ambient light balances the room’s brightness and significantly reduces eye strain during long viewings. Thoughtful lighting also turns a flat drywall surface into a dynamic focal point, instantly elevating the entire TV space and creating a cozy atmosphere.
- Add Wall Sconces: Place matching fixtures on either side of the screen to create structural balance, fill empty wall space, and use vertical light paths to prevent screen glare.
- Use Built-in Lighting: Hidden LED light strips can be integrated directly into custom cabinetry, floating shelves, or slatted panels to create a cozy glow.
- Attach Soft Backlighting & Dimmers: Soft backlighting attached directly to the back of the TV chassis, with adjustable dimmers, can keep screen contrast sharp.
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